Insecurity and Fear

by RunningMan 7 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  RunningMan

  I heard a sermon by a TV evangelist yesterday (a fellow by the name of Hagee). I normally don't watch this stuff, but it was specifically pointed out to me.

  He was talking about marraige, and he made a point that has stuck with me. He said that if a person is not willing to tollerate any disagreement with their ideas, then that person is likely motivated by insecurity and fear. People who are confident and unafraid have no problem hearing dissenting views. So, if you can't tollerate disagreement, look inside yourself. The problem is not with the dissenter, it's with you.

  Now, I'm not a big evangelism fan, but that point fits JW's perfectly. No sort of dissention or discussion is allowed. In fact, even open exploration of ideas is prohibited. The reason - their beliefs are so shakey that they are afraid to explore them. They are fearful and insecure.
• 

  concerned mama

  That is an interesting, good point Runningman. I like the philosophy of "agree to disagree", which allows for others the right to have their own opinion, even though I may not like or agree with that opinion.
• 

  Guest 77

  I've watch him on several occasions and he has some interesting views to consider. He adds humor to his preaching.

  Guest 77
• 

  RunningMan

  Yeah, he was hillarious yesterday. His sermon was also far better researched and presented than anything I have heard at a meeting or assembly.
• 

  Elsewhere

  Mmmm, Yeeesss, To the dark side fear leads.

  "As every one knows, there are mistakes in the Bible" - The Watchtower, April 15, 1928, p. 126
  Believe in yourself, not mythology.
  <x ><
• 

  Xenu

  Fear is a strange phenomenon. It hides, even from itself, like a shadow within us. And yet, fear wields a very powerful influence over our lives from deep in the subconscious. Fear has a grip on us as long and as much as we try to avoid it. In fact, fear is a very slippery thing to catch hold of, wearing many masks in our lives, changing itself into an endless variety of personality affects. It can become anger, neediness, an obsession to succeed or be better than others. It can hide itself deep in the body as a frozen, dense energy, or it can become a compulsion to eat something, like a candy bar. Fear can become acting nice or loving with someone, being quiet in a group of people, or an effort to prove one's intelligence or competence to others. There are many ways that we subconsciously avoid experiencing fear in our day to day lives, unaware of its presence within us. If we turn to face and feel it, we experience our unconscious mind directly, and its influence over us begins to disappear. It is just like bringing light over a shadow. We cannot do anything directly with fear; we only need to bring our inner light and awareness to encounter it.
• 

  detective

  I've always hated the phrase "agree to disagree", it's like nails on a chalkboard with me. But I have no problem with the concept itself.

  I think the reason I have always hated the phrase is because I had a friend who used it constantly but he was the kind of person who would put regularly out some absurd assertion (moon is made of cheese) and despite a valid argument to the contrary would always dismiss the other persons ideas with that statement. Without fail.

  He would tell you he has a grapefruit for a heart and after normal conversation failed you- after endless x-rays, medical exams and proofs got you nowhere with this guy, you could open his chest with a butter knife and pull his ailing heart from his chest to show it to him and his dying words would be still be "let's agree to disagree". It was incredibly infuriating.

  But what do you expect from a guy who carried a travel kit with him everywhere he went just in case he got lucky.
• 

  Francois

  Good ol' no-neck John Hagee? I've watched that guy balloon from a mere 200 pounds up to his current gross tonnage. Thing is, his nose hasn't grown along with the rest of him. And he's got these huge glasses that perch out there dangerously on this little nubbin of a nose. You don't dare change the freakin' channel, you might miss those glasses fallin' off his nose. It's incredible. I wonder if he does that on purpose? That glasses thing? Keeps you riveted to his show.

  I'd rather be a member of his congregation than be a JW. At least the sermons would be good.

  Francois